Moving Toward

Maturity

A Workbook for Monitoring

Our Church’s Progress

Compiled & Written By

Donald T. Robinson, Associate Superintendent
North Pacific Conference
9311 SE 36th Street Suite 208
Mercer, Island, WA 98040
Office: (206) 275-3903
Cell: (425) 985-5964
Email: Don@covchurch-npc.org

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 Introduction

Our goal is to have a congregation be self-sufficient within three to four

years. This means that a congregation will need to be between 125 – 150 in
attendance in order to financially support a full-time pastor and all the
costs for facilities and program.

Three primary indicators of a church’s progress are: attendance,

conversions and stewardship. These are obviously not the only three
dimensions of ministry; however, trends in these areas do tend to give
insight into ministry areas that support these figures. For example,
attendance can give insight into visitor flow, (who is visiting the church and
who is staying). Conversions can point to the evangelistic passion and
effectiveness of a church’s outreach. Stewardship can point to discipleship
as people increase their involvement and investment in the church’s ministry.

How To Use This Resource Workbook

1. Don’t try and do everything. Identify a couple areas to work on.

(For example, cover one topic at each of your leadership team
meetings).
2. Do a reality check of where you are at; develop and implement an
action plan to get where you need to be.
3. Put in place an evaluation process. (Do the monthly and quarterly
reports, pp. 15-21)
4. Use the acronym “GROW” to monitor your ministry:
G-Goal- What are the things you want to accomplish?
R-Reality- What is actually happening? Are you doing what you
want to do, meeting your ministry targets and goals?
O-Options- What are your options if your current reality isn’t
meeting your required goals and objectives?
W-Willingness- What are you willing to do? What are you willing
to commit to doing? What are you willing to quit doing? What are
you willing to say “yes” to and what are you willing to say “no” to?

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Goal: Fully rooted, maturing, financially self-supporting
congregation after 3 years.

Project benchmarks/Standards:

Year One: Average Attendance 70

Per Attender Giving p500 - p750

Year Three: Average Attendance 100 - 125

Per Attender Giving p1,000 - p1,250

This will support 1 full-time pastor and 1-2 part-time support

staff.

Staff & Building Considerations

Adding Staff:
 Average Attendance 200 - 250
 Giving sufficient to support position

Purchase Property & Building:

 200 in attendance.
 No financial aid from conference & denomination for at least
one year.
 Local income of p200,000 to p250.000.
 Hold a capital campaign that generates an additional $200,000
to p400,00 over three years.
 Generate investments in National Covenant Properties through
certificates of deposit (CD’s) and Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRA’s). This amount must be at least 20% of the
loan amount.

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 Linkage
(Always Link Results To A Simple Step-By-Step Process)

Analyzing Our Attendance

YEAR ONE GOAL ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

ATTENDANCE

Based on this information, we need to increase our average

attendance by ____________.

If only 25% to 33% of our first-time visitors become regular

attenders, we need to have at least __________ visit us this
year. This means we need to have:

_____ Annual Visitors

_____ Monthly Visitors

_____ Weekly Visitors

Here are some ideas for getting people to come and check us out:

EVENT/OUTREACH STRATEGY WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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 Evangelism

The ratio of conversion to attendance in all evangelical churches

is 3 per 100. In all Evangelical Covenant Churches the ratio is 6
per 100 and in Covenant church plants the ratio is 12 per 100. A
key question for leaders at a church plant to ask themselves is,
“What is the normal and natural way our church plans for an
unbeliever to become a Christian?”

 Who recently has become a believer through the ministries of

this church and how did they come to faith?

 What is the ratio of our church’s attendance to conversion?

_____ Per _____

CAME TO FAITH
NAMES OF NEW BELIEVERS THROUGH THIS
MINISTRY:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

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 Our strategies for evangelism and outreach include:
Analzying our Visitor Flow

The average church retains approximately 10% of its first time

visitors. The goal in a church plant is that 33% will return. (It is
not unusual for many new churches to have 70% to 80% of its
first time visitors return).

# GOAL ACTUAL
# Of First-Time Visitors
# Of 2nd Time Visitors
# Of Return Regular Attenders (3x
in 8 weeks)
# Of Back-door loss (people leaving
church)
Total Net Growth

It is important to take attendance for three reasons:

1. It helps us know who is coming.

2. It helps us know who isn’t there.
3. It helps us communicate with both.

We will get the names of our visitors in the following ways:




Calculating Our Net Numerical Growth

Number of Multiplied By Subtract Equals Net

Visitors Retention Rate Backdoor Loss Growth

+ ___________ X _________ -__________ =__________

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 Follow-Up

When people take a step toward us by attending our services or

activities, it is important for us to take a step toward them. We
will follow-up on our visitors in the following ways:

NEWCOMERS VISIT # CHURCH RESPONSE:

1. First Time Visitors
2. 2nd Time Visitors
3. Return Regular Attenders (3x in
8 wks)

Backdoor Loss

It is also important to note when people who have been active in

our church begin to disengage and leave the church. Two
of the primary reasons that people leave a church are: 1)
Failure to connect with others; and, 2) Failure to grow
spiritually. Other reasons people leave a church include:

1. Unmet expectations (no longer connecting).

2. Changed reasons for involvement (no longer need a ministry for
children or youth).
3. Conflict with someone. (1/3 of losses due to relational conflict).
4. Other issues. (Family/marital, burnout,etc.)

BACKDOOR LOSS # CHURCH RESPONSE:

(People Leaving the Church)
1 Regular Attenders missing 3 weeks
2. Regular Attenders missing 6 weeks

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3. Regular Attenders missing 9 weeks

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 Troubleshooting our Growth Trends
When attendance plateau or begins to decline it is important to take a
closer look at where the lack of growth is occurring. Is it because few
people are checking the church out at worship services? Is it because
people are visiting, but not returning? Or is the backdoor loss due to people
leaving the church? A careful analysis of why the church may not be
growing will help identify some possible causes and possible church
responses.

Poor Visitor Flow

(People aren’t coming to check the church out)
Possible Causes: Possible Church Response(s):
 Poor word of mouth 
 People aren’t inviting others. 
 Poor visibility.

 The community isn’t aware of the
church.


Poor Retention Rate

(People visit once or twice, but don’t return to stay)
Possible Causes: Possible Church Response(s):
 Worship style 
 Worship quality 
 Children’s experience 
 Didn’t relationally connect

 Didn’t connect to a ministry,
activity or program


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 Backdoor Loss
(People who were once active at the church are leaving)

Possible Causes: Possible Church Response(s):

 Lack of meaningful relationships 
 lack of expectation with the 
church 
 Conflict with someone or an issue 
 Private, personal issue 
 Fatigue

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 What do our Budget and Stewardship
Practices
say about our priorities?

 Do you use your budget to talk about your vision?

 Do you communicate the vision in a compelling way

that invites people to invest in the ministry and own
their part?

 What do your income projections say about your

vision?
 (Annual household income raises 3-3.5% a year;
does the budget reflect that growth?)

 Does it reflect expected growth in # of people?

 What is the ratio of giving in the church?

 (80/20 rule, 20% of people giving 16% of budget)

 What do our expenses say about our mission?

 Percentage of expenses for staff (1/3)
 Percentage of expenses for facilities (1/3)
 Percentage of expenses for mission &
programming (1/3)
(What is the percentage for advertising & outreach?)

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 Analzying our Giving
After the first year of a church plant, the giving should average between
p600 - p800 per attender. Unless a church plant’s giving exceeds p800 per
year, per attender it is unlikely that the church could support a capital
funds drive. A capital funds drive is necessary for the purchase of land and
construction of a facility.

PER-CAPITA ANNUAL INCOME

Average P500 P600 P700 P800 P1000

Attendance
50 P25,000 P30,000 P35,000 P40,000 P50,000
75 P37,500 P45,000 P52,500 P60,000 P75,000
100 P50,000 P60,000 P70,000 P80,000 P100,000
125 P62,500 P75,000 P87,500 P100,000 P125,000
150 P75,000 P90,000 P105,000 P120,000 P150,000

GOAL ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

# Of Attenders
# Of Members
Per Attender Average Giving
Per Member Average Giving
Annual Budgeted Income
Projected Income Based on
Current Giving

Based on the above information, we need to increase our giving by:

P_____________.

Our church’s per attender giving is P___________ compared to the

Covenant’s average attender giving in 2004 of P1, 432.

Our church’s per member giving is P___________ compared to the

Covenant’s average member giving in 2004 of P1, 741.

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Here are some ways that we can communicate the stewardship opportunities
in our church and increase the level of participation by the congregation:

STEWARDSHIP STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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 6 Doors for Mission Giving

Churches have at least 6 “doors” or “pockets” for mission giving. In order to

build a stewardship base in the church you should plan to give opportunity
for the congregation to give to each of the six ways. Often times in a new
church the giving is concentrated in only one way, the offering at worship.
When you allow people to give in small ways, (such as spontaneous giving) you
begin to build a culture and climate that giving is a normal and natural part
of your church that every one can share in.

6 POCKETS
TO MISSION GIVING WHEN? HOW?
1. Spontaneous Giving-
One time giving for a benevolent fund
or special offering. A Thanksgiving or
Christmas offering for the community.
A disaster appeal for relief.

2. Short-Term Projects-
Special giving for a mission project,
or to add an intern, staff member,
purchase equipment, etc.
3. Annual Budget Giving-
People can make a commitment to
giving annually to the church.
4. Special Planned Giving-
Commit to a capital funds drive over
2-3 years.
5. Enduring Giving-
Through naming church in a will or
trust.
6. Major Community Worship Giving-
The regular tithes and offerings
received at worship services.

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 Assimilation/Integration/Adjustment

What is the normal and natural way our church plans for a visitor
to become an invested and involved member of our church?

ASSIMILATION STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Characteristics of an Assimilated Newcomer*

1. Regular Worship Attendance (3 out of 8 Sundays)

2. Develop 5 friends

3. Participation in a meaningful group/cell group

4. Identifiable task or role.

5. Consistent, percentage giving.

6. Refers to the church as “My” church.

 Based on this definition, who in your church is fully assimilated at this

time?

 Who is moving toward full assimilation?

 Who is moving away from the church?

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*From Robert Logan’s, “Beyond Church Growth.”
Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

What is the normal and natural way our church plans for the
spiritual formation, training and equipping of believers?

DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

CONNECTION STRATEGIES (TRAINING & EQUIPPING)

What is the normal and natural way our church plans to connect
people to the ministries of the church? How do they become
an invested, involved, connected and contributing member of
the church?

CONNECTION STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.

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5.
6.
___________ Covenant
Ministry Report
For
________________
(Month)

INFORMATION ITEMS

A. ATTENDANCE

LAST MONTH’S GOAL ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

AVG. ATTENDANCE

B. VISITOR FLOW

GOAL ACTUAL
# Of First-Time Visitors
# Of 2nd Time Visitors
# Of Return Regular Attenders (3x in 8 weeks)
# Of Back-door loss (people leaving church)
Total Net Growth

BACKDOOR LOSS CHURCH RESPONSE:

(People Leaving the Church) #
Regular Attenders missing 3 weeks
Regular Attenders missing 6 weeks
Regular Attenders missing 9 weeks

C. FINANCIAL SUMMARY

INCOME

GOAL ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

Offerings
Appropriations

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YTD Budgeted Income
2000 Projected Income
Based on Current Giving
Expenses

GOAL ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

2005 Annual Budget
2005 YTD Budget
Monthly Budgeted Expenses
Non-Budgeted Expenses
(Specify)
Special Funds (Benevolence)
To Covenant Ministries (10%)
To Conference Ministries (5%)
Last Month’s Balance
This Month’s Balance
Other Fund Balance
TOTAL BALANCE ALL
FUNDS
Past Due Bills: (List)

D. EVANGELISM UPDATE

What is the normal and natural way our church plans for an
unbeliever to become a Christian?”

NAMES OF NEW BELIEVERS: CAME TO FAITH THROUGH

THIS MINISTRY:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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7.
8.
9.
10.

MINISTRY PLANS

A. OUTREACH STRATEGIES & MINISTRIES OF COMPASSION

Here are some ideas for getting people to come and check us out:

EVENT/OUTREACH STRATEGY WHEN? WHO? HOW?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

B. ASSIMILATION PLANS
What is the normal and natural way our church plans for a visitor
to become an invested and involved member of our church?

ASSIMILATION STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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C. DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGIES (Small Groups)
What is the normal and natural way our church plans for the
spiritual formation, training and equipping of believers?

DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

D. CONNECTION STRATEGIES (TRAINING & EQUIPPING)

What is the normal and natural way our church plans to connect
people to the ministries of the church? How do they become
an invested, involved, connected and contributing member of
the church?

CONNECTION STRATEGIES WHEN? WHO?

HOW?
1.
2.
3.

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4.
5.
6.

Our Church’s Quarterly Goals

Goals When? Who?

How?
In the next 3 months, these will be the pivotal issues in the
development of our church (list 3 areas):

1.

2.

3.

These specific goals can help us address these critical issues:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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I would expect ______ family units to visit this quarter.
Because:

I would expect _____% to become regular attenders.

Because:

Evangelism Goals:
1.

2.

Worship Ministry Goals:

1.

2.

Fellowship Ministry Goals

1.

2.

Discipleship and C.E. Ministry Goals:

1.

2.

Service Ministry Goals:

1.

2.

Outreach Ministry Goals:

1.

2.

Youth Ministry Goals:

1.

2.

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Budget & Financial Ministry Goals:
1.

2.

Pastoral Care Goals:

1.

2.

Personal Spiritual Life Goals:

1.

2.

Overall Evaluation

_____Excellent

_____Above Average

_____Satisfactory

_____Marginal

_____Unsatisfactory

___________________________________
Church Planter

___________________________________
Coach

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 Resources
The Department of Church Growth and Evangelism for the Evangelical
Covenant Church has several seminars and workshops that are helpful in
strengthening the ministries of prayer and evangelism. Contact them at
(773) 784-3000.

Blackaby, Henry and Claude King, Experiencing God,

Nashville, Tennessee: 1990

Logan, Robert and Steven Ogne, The Church Planter’s Toolkit,

Carol Stream, Illinois: Church Smart Resources 1991
(800-253-4276)

Logan, Robert, Beyond Church Growth,

Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1989

Malphurs, Aubrey, Planting Growing Churches for the 21 st Century,

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker 1992

McLaren, Brian, The Church on the Other Side,

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan 2000

Oakley, Ed & Doug Krug, Enlightened Leadership,

Denver, Colorado: Stone Tree 1992

Schwarz, Christian, Natural Church Development, Carol Stream, Illinois:

Church Smart Resources 1996 (800-253-4276)

Sjogren, Steve, Conspiracy of Kindness,

Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Publications 1993

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Thrall, Bill; MicNichol, Bruce; McElrath, The Ascent of a Leader
San Francisco: Josey -Bass 1999

Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church,

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan 1995

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